Russia has brushed off Australia's move to slap asset freezes and travel bans on key players in Moscow's interference in Ukraine, saying they won't have much effect and could help an anti-corruption drive.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Wednesday Australia was joining the US and Europe in imposing sanctions on 12 Russian and Ukrainian people who had ''been instrumental in the Russian threat to Ukraine's sovereignty''.

She did not name the individuals. But the move follows similar actions by Washington and Brussels, whose sanctions are widely thought to target close aides to President Vladimir Putin and senior members of the Russian parliament.

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Canberra, Alexander Odoevskiy, dismissed the sanctions, saying if anything they would help the government in its drive to stamp out corruption among senior officials.

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''I really doubt there will be significant interests of the Russian politicians and foreign assets in Australia. In fact, by law, top Russian bureaucrats are not allowed to have any property or business or financial interest abroad.

''These sanctions will help to implement anti-corruption policies, which have been introduced by the Russian government … a year ago. If there are some corrupt top officials, which I doubt, who have assets in Australia and they will be frozen, this will only help the anti-corruption work currently being done by Russia.''

When the US imposed similar sanctions on Monday, the Russian parliament called on Washington to extend the sanctions to all MPs. ''It doesn't look like they're really worried about the consequences,'' Mr Odoevskiy said.

He said sanctions would ''not contribute to decreasing the current tensions'' in Ukraine.

''We don't like any unilateral sanctions … We don't think it will do any good.''

The move by the Abbott government, which was backed by Labor, come in response to Mr Putin's announcement overnight that Russia would annex Crimea, the Ukrainian region that voted on Sunday to secede from the rest of the country in a referendum condemned in the West as illegal and rigged.

The reported result was 97 per cent in favour of leaving Ukraine and becoming part of Russia.

''The actions taken by Russia are a clear violation of international rules prohibiting the use of force and protecting the territorial integrity of states,'' Ms Bishop told Parliament.

''International law does not allow one state to steal the territory of another on the basis of a referendum that cannot be considered free or fair.''

People subject to asset freezes are not named, to avoid having them take the assets out of the country.